Top Actor Hopes His Daughter Never Watches His Hit K-Drama

Joo Sang Wook’s latest role was a career high, but it is one performance he would rather keep away from his young daughter.

The actor recently sat down for an interview following the conclusion of SBS’s hit K-Drama, Agent Kim Reactivated, where he opened up about the show’s success, his dramatic villain transformation, and how his family reacted to seeing a completely different side of him.

Agent Kim Reactivated follows an ordinary father who becomes increasingly dangerous as he fights to recover his only daughter. The revenge-action drama became one of the year’s biggest television successes, ending with a nationwide rating of 23.0 percent and reaching a peak of 27.1 percent. Joo Sang Wook portrayed construction company chairman Joo Kang Chan, a former hired thug whose warped devotion to his daughter drives him to cover up her wrongdoing and relentlessly target Kim, played by So Ji Sub.

The role marked one of the darkest transformations of Joo Sang Wook’s career. Rather than playing a traditionally heroic or romantic character, he portrayed a cold, obsessive villain whose actions left viewers furious week after week. His wife, actress Cha Ye Ryun, was reportedly one of the drama’s most enthusiastic viewers. Their daughter, however, was not allowed to join the family watch parties.

Joo Sang Wook explained that his daughter is currently in the second grade, while the drama carries a rating for viewers aged 15 and older. Even once she reaches the appropriate age, he joked that he would still prefer her not to watch it.

My daughter is only in the second grade, so she couldn’t watch it because it is rated for ages 15 and up. Even when she turns 15, I hope she avoids watching it if possible.

— Joo Sang Wook

Considering what his character does throughout the series, his reluctance is understandable. Joo Kang Chan is not only one of the drama’s central villains, but also a father who protects his daughter even after learning that she was involved in school violence. He attempts to suppress the truth and uses his power to shield her from the consequences. Joo Sang Wook admitted that imagining his real daughter becoming involved in a similar situation, whether as a victim or an aggressor, was terrifying.

Just thinking about it is horrifying. Whether she were the victim or the perpetrator, I think I would have to take drastic action. It would be completely unacceptable.

Joo Sang Wook

He said he regularly puts his daughter to bed and takes her to school. At her current age, he finds her endlessly adorable and does not yet want to think about the distance that may come with adolescence. When asked whether she preferred her mother or father, his daughter apparently refused to choose. He laughed while sharing the story, but became more emotional when discussing her eventually entering puberty.

When I ask, ‘Who do you like more, Mom or Dad?’ she says, ‘Both.’ But when I ask who is scarier, she answers ‘Mom’ without even thinking…

…I don’t want to imagine her going through adolescence. Everyone says it isn’t that far away, and just thinking about it makes me emotional. Maybe it depends on how well I do as her father.

— Joo Sang Wook

Joo Sang Wook and Cha Ye Ryun married in 2017 after meeting through the drama Glamorous Temptation. They welcomed their daughter the following year.

Read more about them here:

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